A case analysis of a product lifecycle information management framework for SMEs

Information management during the product lifecycle has received a great deal of attention over the last few years, mainly because firms work in a complex business environment characterized by information overload, high levels of competitiveness and the acceleration of technological change. In this context, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software has been evolving rapidly and, today, powerful tools in the market enable high levels of information to be managed. However, commercial PLM software is mostly oriented towards large-sized firms, which poses a big challenge for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). To address this issue, SMEs can develop their own Product Lifecycle Information Management (PLIM) Frameworks for managing data and information throughout the product lifecycle processes. This article presents a successful example of a PLIM Framework: the case of Pladomin’s PLIM Framework.     

Multi-facet product information search and retrieval using semantically annotated product family ontology

With the advent of various services and applications of Semantic Web, semantic annotation has emerged as an important research topic. The application of semantically annotated ontology had been evident in numerous information processing and retrieval tasks. One of such tasks is utilizing the semantically annotated ontology in product design which is able to suggest many important applications that are critical to aid various design related tasks. However, ontology development in design engineering remains a time consuming and tedious task that demands considerable human efforts. In the context of product family design, management of different product information that features efficient indexing, update, navigation, search and retrieval across product families is both desirable and challenging. For instance, an efficient way of retrieving timely information on product family can be useful for tasks such as product family redesign and new product variant derivation when requirements change. However, the current research and application of information search and navigation in product family is mostly limited to its structural aspect which is insufficient to handle advanced information search especially when the query targets at multiple aspects of a product. This paper attempts to address this problem by proposing an information search and retrieval framework based on the semantically annotated multi-facet product family ontology. Particularly, we propose a document profile (DP) model to suggest semantic tags for annotation purpose. Using a case study of digital camera families, we illustrate how the faceted search and retrieval of product information can be accomplished. We also exemplify how we can derive new product variants based on the designer’s query of requirements via the faceted search and retrieval of product family information. Lastly, in order to highlight the value of our current work, we briefly discuss some further research and applications in design decision support, e.g. commonality analysis and variety comparison, based on the semantically annotated multi-facet product family ontology.     

Knowledge sharing in project-based organizations: Overcoming the informational limbo

Project-based organizations (PBO) are nowadays widespread in almost all the activity sectors. This type of organizations poses complex problems for information and knowledge management due to the fragmentation and lack of uniformity of organizational structures, processes, practices, and technologies. The ineffectiveness of knowledge sharing over time, between project teams, is perhaps the most prominent issue that PBO must deal with. This strongly affects organizational learning, which seems to under-deliver value to PBO. Therefore, relevant knowledge is trapped in an “informational limbo” out of reach, not being capitalized for the organization. This is particularly true in research and development (R&D) institutions, where knowledge sharing can be hindered by conceptual misunderstandings resulting from different disciplines, cultures and ways of working of project participants. This paper addresses such issues by analyzing, in a comprehensive way, how information and knowledge management can better suit project team's needs and at the same time improve organizational learning. An ethnographic study, based on immersed participant observation, is performed at a Portuguese R&D Institute, in order to understand the link between the way information is managed in a project and how people interact and learn by sharing knowledge between projects. Results provide a set of enterprise information management (EIM) recommendations. Findings also suggest that a PBO-wide EIM strategy, balancing knowledge codification and personalization mechanisms, is a feasible solution to overcome the problems of knowledge sharing in PBO.     

面向文物数字化产品全生命周期管理系统的研究

依据产品全生命周期管理的理论,设计一种面向数字化文物产品全生命周期管理的管理体系结构,从文物基础信息的数字化采集到文物衍产品的设计开发,以及与文物相关的网上各种服务进行详细阐述,为文物文化产业化发展提供建议.     

知识管理在新产品开发中的挑战

对于新产品开发领域中知识管理所面临的挑战进行系统阐述,并且对其未来的可能发展方向提出见解。     

Sources of ideas for innovation in engineering design

This paper explores the sources of ideas for innovation in engineering design. It shows that engineering designers involved in complex, non-routine design processes rely heavily on face-to-face conversations with other designers for solving problems and developing new innovative ideas. The research is based on a case study and survey of designers from Arup, a leading international engineering consultancy. We examine the role of different mechanisms for learning about new designs, the motivations of designers, problem-solving and limits to designers’ ability to innovate. We explore how the project-based nature of the construction sector shapes the ways in which designers develop new ideas and solve problems. We suggest that among the population of designers in Arup, there are a number of different design strategies for innovating and that these can have important implications for how design is managed. We locate our approach in the research on innovation in project-based firms, outlining patterns of innovation in firms that survive on the basis of their success in winning and managing projects.     

基于Windchill的产品生命周期管理教学平台构建

应用产品生命周期管理软件Windchill,搭建出一个基于企业真实环境的产品生命周期管理教学平台,提升学生的工程创新实践能力.设定企业产品开发流程的角色,学生通过变换自己的角色,能够跨专业、跨学科完整的体验产品研发设计过程,使其认识和理解现代企业中产品的结构管理、文档管理、生命周期管理和工作流程管理等管理思想,提前成为企业需要的人才.学生也可组成项目团队直接在此平台上开展创新项目、课程设计、毕业设计等实践活动,培养创新精神.产品生命周期管理教学平台的构建代表了现代教学的方向,为培养卓越工程师提供有力的平台.     

On the governance of information: Introducing a new concept of governance to support the management of information

Information governance as an approach to better govern the use of information within and outside an organization is rapidly gaining popularity. A common and scientific ground for this approach has not yet been formulated. In this article the authors describe a definition for information governance, extending the common, one-dimensional approach into a more generic statement. Starting from the well-known principles of IT governance the authors further explore the aspects of both information and governance. Four hypotheses are proposed to give ground to the use of information governance. These hypotheses will be the basis for further research.     

A study on the motivational aspects of information management practice

This research investigates the motivational aspects of information management practice by developing and performing an initial test of the theorization on the components and structural properties of a new variable, called information management motivation (IMM). Based on a synthesis of the motivation and information processing literature in the information systems, psychology, management, and information technology training fields, we theorize IMM as a second order construct composed of formative sub-constructs of proactiveness, sharing, transparency, and formality. New measures were developed for the constituent constructs of IMM and refined through two studies involving 120 knowledge workers. The model of IMM was tested, confirming the proposed structural relationships between the constituent constructs and IMM. The study findings provide important insights on understanding and improving individual knowledge workers’ information management activities.     

浅谈信息流在冷水机组产品研发项目时间管理的应用

针对冷水机组企业产品研发项目中,在时间管理方面普遍存在缺少监控和调整的问题,通过应用信息流技术,对项目各阶段任务进行分配和跟踪,从而帮助冷水机组企业提高产品开发项目时间管理的能力和水平。     

工程项目的全面风险管理

将全面风险管理引入项目风险管理之中,在指出了工程项目中存在的主要风险之后,介绍了全面风险管理理论的含义以及体系内容,最后着重阐述了全面风险管理的流程体系。     

Use of widgets as information management tools in online shared spaces

Online shared spaces are destinations where people of common interests interact to achieve common goals or borrow each other's expertise for personal pursuits. Due to a multitude of users, such spaces generate large amounts of content, thus creating a potential for information overload. To deal with it, users of online shared spaces develop information management strategies that frequently involve the use of information technology. In this paper we present a case study of the use of widgets as information management tools in uCern, an online shared workspace where healthcare industry stakeholders get involved in various types of interactions. To understand how widgets served the purpose of information management and whether they were considered useful, we administered an online questionnaire (n = 183) followed by qualitative interviews (n = 5). Data analysis revealed that study participants used widgets as tools that promoted their situation and activity awareness of events and activities going on in uCern and helped them with organizing and accessing the content in a quick and efficient manner. We also describe issues associated with the use of widgets and their usefulness as reported by participants and propose implications for design and development of online shared spaces in relation to information management tools.     

高校校园实施中水回用的可行性探析

中水回用即污水的再利用或资源化。分析校园污水的特性,对在高校实施中水回用的可行性进行了探讨,并提出校园中水回用建设模式,指出高校校园应用中水回用技术的综合效益及良好前景。     

Information encountering and management in information literacy instruction of undergraduate,students

The nature of the information-rich environment of the 21st century has affected the ways in which students’ access information. Students no longer have to seek information; they acquire it passively through their everyday use of the Internet. This paper presents findings of a study involving the information encountering experiences of undergraduate students and the potential role of personal information collection, management, and retrieval in information literacy instruction. Undergraduate students enrolled in an information literacy course were surveyed regarding their experiences online with information encountering and personal information management. Survey questions were adopted from the information encountering scale developed by Wise & Erdelez (2012) and consisted of twelve questions focused on the noticing, stopping, examining, and capturing steps of the Information encountering model (Erdelez, 2004). The study indicates that the vast majority of the undergraduate students responding to the survey were frequently encountering unexpected information while online, but were not capturing this information for future use using built-in, web-based tools. While information literacy courses teach students to identify, seek, analyze, and use needed information, they do not prepare them to manage and retrieve unexpected information encountered while using the Internet.     

二级院系信息化管理平台的建设与应用

在当今信息化飞速发展的时代,针对学生、教师人数的不断增加,二级院系的各项管理工作和教学任务越来越艰巨,这就需要我们在不断规范各项工作的同时,充分利用现代化的信息管理手段建立信息化管理平台。文章主要介绍了数理学院在校园网基础上建设的信息化平台的设计思路、总体结构及实现技术,运用现代化的手段进行统一管理,从而进一步提高工作...     

信息技术外包的项目管理策略研究

服务外包产业是现代高端服务业的重要组成部分,其中的信息技术外包往往涉及的业务领域和技术领域很广,业务和技术方面的差异,决定了项目生命周期组织方式、项目规模和周期差异性的不同,这些项目间差异性,给信息技术外包项目规范化带来了极大的复杂性。项目管理工作应贯穿整个信息技术外包项目的全过程,是项目成功实施、执行、并提供高质量、可靠服务的有利保证。     

Knowledge meaning and management in requirements engineering

It is traditionally assumed that requirements specification, as a product of requirements engineering, has a high impact on the ensuing software development stages. Therefore, the knowledge management used to construct the requirements specification should be performed in a structured manner to discover, analyze and understand the data–information–knowledge chain, both tacit and explicit, that the interested parties possess. In this article, the results of a literature review are presented, seeking to answer the following questions: (1) What is the meaning of knowledge in requirements engineering? (2) What approaches are proposed to manage knowledge in requirements engineering? (3) Can the efficiency and the efficacy of knowledge management models be evidenced in requirements engineering? Thirty-six works were chosen for analysis out of a total 83 found in our search. The analysis showed that (1) knowledge has a central significance at this stage, but the authors have yet to agree on the best methods to impart and apply that knowledge; (2) no general framework has emerged as a validated approach to manage knowledge for requirements engineering; and (3) the evaluation marks for model efficiency and efficacy are low, consisting mostly of personal interpretations.     

Innovation in project-based firms: The context dependency of success factors

Innovation management literature typically concerns functionally organized firms. In this paper we investigate innovation management in a different type of firm, the project-based firm. Project-based firms, such as engineering and construction companies, consultancies and system integrators, are service firms that solely execute projects for clients. We focus on new service development projects in these firms. Based on an in-depth study of six projects in four different firms, we develop hypotheses on differences between success factors for development projects in project-based firms and in functionally organized firms. Some of the success factors for functionally organized firms, as described in the literature, appear to be more important in project-based firms, others seem redundant. Our findings suggest that the specific structure and capabilities of project-based firms provide an explanation for these differences.     

信息技术在铁路LKJ基础数据管理中的应用

文章介绍了列车运行监控装置(简称LKJ)及LKJ基础数据的基本概念,以及LKJ及其基础数据在铁路行车安全中的重要性。基于现代信息技术的LKJ基础数据填报及审核管理信息系统的建立,加强了LKJ基础数据填报、审核、汇总等相关管理工作。通过分析LKJ基础数据填报及审核管理信息系统的具体设计和实现,从而说明了信息技术在LKJ基础数据填报、审核、汇总等管理环节中发挥的积极作用。